Semiconductor device comprising a superlattice channel vertically stepped above source and drain regions

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device may include a semiconductor substrate and at least one metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). The at least one MOSFET may include spaced apart source and drain regions in the semiconductor substrate, and a superlattice channel including a plurality of stacked groups of layers on the semiconductor substrate between the source and drain regions. The superlattice channel may have upper surface portions vertically stepped above adjacent upper surface portions of the source and drain regions. Each group of layers of the superlattice channel may include a plurality of stacked base semiconductor monolayers defining a base semiconductor portion and an energy band-modifying layer thereon. The energy-band modifying layer may include at least one non-semiconductor monolayer constrained within a crystal lattice of adjacent base semiconductor. The at least one MOSFET may additionally include a gate overlying the superlattice channel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/647,069 filed Aug. 22, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,897,472, which in turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/603,696 and 10/603,621, both filed on Jun. 26, 2003 now abandoned, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductors, and, more particularly, to semiconductors having enhanced properties based upon energy band engineering and associated methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Structures and techniques have been proposed to enhance the performance of semiconductor devices, such as by enhancing the mobility of the charge carriers. For example, U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 2003/0057416 to Currie et al. discloses strained material layers of silicon, silicon-germanium, and relaxed silicon and also including impurity-free zones that would otherwise cause performance degradation. The resulting biaxial strain in the upper silicon layer alters the carrier mobilities enabling higher speed and/or lower power devices. Published U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 2003/0034529 to Fitzgerald et al. discloses a CMOS inverter also based upon similar strained silicon technology.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,472,685 B2 to Takagi discloses a semiconductor device including a silicon and carbon layer sandwiched between silicon layers so that the conduction band and valence band of the second silicon layer receive a tensile strain. Electrons having a smaller effective mass, and which have been induced by an electric field applied to the gate electrode, are confined in the second silicon layer, thus, an n-channel MOSFET is asserted to have a higher mobility.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,204 to Ishibashi et al. discloses a superlattice in which a plurality of layers, less than eight monolayers, and containing a fraction or a binary compound semiconductor layers, are alternately and epitaxially grown. The direction of main current flow is perpendicular to the layers of the superlattice.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,119 to Wang et al. discloses a Si—Ge short period superlattice with higher mobility achieved by reducing alloy scattering in the superlattice. Along these lines, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,934 to Candelaria discloses an enhanced mobility MOSFET including a channel layer comprising an alloy of silicon and a second material substitutionally present in the silicon lattice at a percentage that places the channel layer under tensile stress.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,262 to Tsu discloses a quantum well structure comprising two barrier regions and a thin epitaxially grown semiconductor layer sandwiched between the barriers. Each barrier region consists of alternate layers of SiO₂/Si with a thickness generally in a range of two to six monolayers. A much thicker section of silicon is sandwiched between the barriers.

An article entitled “Phenomena in silicon nanostructure devices” also to Tsu and published online Sep. 6, 2000 by Applied Physics and Materials Science & Processing, pp. 391-402 discloses a semiconductor-atomic superlattice (SAS) of silicon and oxygen. The Si/O superlattice is disclosed as useful in a silicon quantum and light-emitting devices. In particular, a green electroluminescence diode structure was constructed and tested. Current flow in the diode structure is vertical, that is, perpendicular to the layers of the SAS. The disclosed SAS may include semiconductor layers separated by adsorbed species such as oxygen atoms, and CO molecules. The silicon growth beyond the adsorbed monolayer of oxygen is described as epitaxial with a fairly low defect density. One SAS structure included a 1.1 nm thick silicon portion that is about eight atomic layers of silicon, and another structure had twice this thickness of silicon. An article to Luo et al. entitled “Chemical Design of Direct-Gap Light-Emitting Silicon” published in Physical Review Letters, Vol. 89, No. 7 (Aug. 12, 2002) further discusses the light emitting SAS structures of Tsu.

Published International Application WO 02/103,767 A1 to Wang, Tsu and Lofgren, discloses a barrier building block of thin silicon and oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, antimony, arsenic or hydrogen to thereby reduce current flowing vertically through the lattice more than four orders of magnitude. The insulating layer/barrier layer allows for low defect epitaxial silicon to be deposited next to the insulating layer.

Published Great Britain Patent Application 2,347,520 to Mears et al. discloses that principles of Aperiodic Photonic Band-Gap (APBG) structures may be adapted for electronic bandgap engineering. In particular, the application discloses that material parameters, for example, the location of band minima, effective mass, etc, can be tailored to yield new aperiodic materials with desirable band-structure characteristics. Other parameters, such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and dielectric permittivity or magnetic permeability are disclosed as also possible to be designed into the material.

Despite considerable efforts at materials engineering to increase the mobility of charge carriers in semiconductor devices, there is still a need for greater improvements. Greater mobility may increase device speed and/or reduce device power consumption. With greater mobility, device performance can also be maintained despite the continued shift to smaller device features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor device including one or more MOSFETS having relatively high charge carrier mobility and related methods.

This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with the present invention are provided by a semiconductor device which may include a semiconductor substrate, and at least one metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET). More particularly, the at least one MOSFET may include spaced apart source and drain regions in the semiconductor substrate, and a superlattice channel including a plurality of stacked groups of layers on the semiconductor substrate between the source and drain regions. Furthermore, the superlattice channel may have upper surface portions vertically stepped above adjacent upper surface portions of the source and drain regions. More particularly, each group of layers of the superlattice channel may include a plurality of stacked base semiconductor monolayers defining a base semiconductor portion and an energy band-modifying layer thereon. Also, the energy-band modifying layer may include at least one non-semiconductor monolayer constrained within a crystal lattice of adjacent base semiconductor. The at least one MOSFET may additionally include a gate overlying the superlattice channel.

The semiconductor device may also include an underlying portion of the substrate aligned with the superlattice channel and also being vertically stepped above the source and drain regions. Furthermore, the gate may include a gate oxide layer and a gate electrode thereover, and the superlattice channel may be aligned with the gate electrode. The gate may also include a sidewall spacers on opposing sides of the gate electrode, and in accordance with an alternate embodiment the superlattice channel may be aligned with the sidewall spacers.

In addition, the at least one MOSFET may be a plurality thereof, and the semiconductor device may further include an isolation region in the semiconductor substrate between adjacent MOSFETs. A contact layer may also be included on at least one of the source and drain regions.

More specifically, the superlattice channel may have a common energy band structure therein, and it may also have a higher charge carrier mobility than would otherwise be present. Each base semiconductor portion may comprise silicon, and each energy band-modifying layer may comprise oxygen. Further, each energy band-modifying layer may be a single monolayer thick, and each base semiconductor portion may be less than eight monolayers thick.

The superlattice may further have a substantially direct energy bandgap, and it may also include a base semiconductor cap layer on an uppermost group of layers. In one embodiment, all of the base semiconductor portions may be a same number of monolayers thick. In accordance with an alternate embodiment, at least some of the base semiconductor portions may be a different number of monolayers thick. In addition, each energy band-modifying layer may include a non-semiconductor selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and carbon-oxygen, for example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the superlattice as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective schematic atomic diagram of a portion of the superlattice shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a superlattice that may be used in the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A is a graph of the calculated band structure from the gamma point (G) for both bulk silicon as in the prior art, and for the 4/1 Si/O superlattice as shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5B is a graph of the calculated band structure from the Z point for both bulk silicon as in the prior art, and for the 4/1 Si/O superlattice as shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5C is a graph of the calculated band structure from both the gamma and Z points for both bulk silicon as in the prior art, and for the 5/1/3/1 Si/O superlattice as shown in FIG. 4.

FIGS. 6A-6E are a series of schematic cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method for making the semiconductor device of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7A-7D are a series of schematic cross-sectional diagrams illustrating a method for making an alternate embodiment of the semiconductor device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional diagram illustrating a completed semiconductor device formed using the method steps illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7E.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and prime and multiple prime notation are used to indicate similar elements in alternate embodiments.

The present invention relates to controlling the properties of semiconductor materials at the atomic or molecular level to achieve improved performance within semiconductor devices. Further, the invention relates to the identification, creation, and use of improved materials for use in the conduction paths of semiconductor devices.

Applicants theorize, without wishing to be bound thereto, that certain superlattices as described herein reduce the effective mass of charge carriers and that this thereby leads to higher charge carrier mobility. Effective mass is described with various definitions in the literature. As a measure of the improvement in effective mass Applicants use a “conductivity reciprocal effective mass tensor”, M_(e) ⁻¹ and M_(h) ⁻¹ for electrons and holes respectively, defined as:

${M_{e,{i\; j}}^{- 1}\left( {E_{F},T} \right)} = \frac{\sum\limits_{E > E_{F}}{\int_{B.Z.}{\left( {\nabla_{k}{E\left( {k,n} \right)}} \right)_{i}\left( {\nabla_{k}{E\left( {k,n} \right)}} \right)_{j}\frac{\partial{f\left( {{E\left( {k,n} \right)},E_{F},T} \right)}}{\partial E}\ {\mathbb{d}^{3}k}}}}{\sum\limits_{E > E_{F}}{\int_{B.Z.}{{f\left( {{E\left( {k,n} \right)},E_{F},T} \right)}\ {\mathbb{d}^{3}k}}}}$ for electrons and:

${M_{h,{i\; j}}^{- 1}\left( {E_{F},T} \right)} = \frac{\underset{E < E_{F}}{- \sum}{\int_{B.Z.}{\left( {\nabla_{k}{E\left( {k,n} \right)}} \right)_{i}\left( {\nabla_{k}{E\left( {k,n} \right)}} \right)_{j}\frac{\partial{f\left( {{E\left( {k,n} \right)},E_{F},T} \right)}}{\partial E}\ {\mathbb{d}^{3}k}}}}{\sum\limits_{E < E_{F}}{\int_{B.Z.}{\left( {1 - {f\left( {{E\left( {k,n} \right)},E_{F},T} \right)}} \right)\ {\mathbb{d}^{3}k}}}}$ for holes, where f is the Fermi-Dirac distribution, E_(F) is the Fermi energy, T is the temperature, E(k,n) is the energy of an electron in the state corresponding to wave vector k and the n^(th) energy band, the indices i and j refer to Cartesian coordinates x, y and z, the integrals are taken over the Brillouin zone (B.Z.), and the summations are taken over bands with energies above and below the Fermi energy for electrons and holes respectively.

Applicants' definition of the conductivity reciprocal effective mass tensor is such that a tensorial component of the conductivity of the material is greater for greater values of the corresponding component of the conductivity reciprocal effective mass tensor. Again Applicants theorize without wishing to be bound thereto that the superlattices described herein set the values of the conductivity reciprocal effective mass tensor so as to enhance the conductive properties of the material, such as typically for a preferred direction of charge carrier transport. The inverse of the appropriate tensor element is referred to as the conductivity effective mass. In other words, to characterize semiconductor material structures, the conductivity effective mass for electrons/holes as described above and calculated in the direction of intended carrier transport is used to distinguish improved materials.

Using the above-described measures, one can select materials having improved band structures for specific purposes. One such example would be a superlattice 25 material for a channel region in a semiconductor device. A planar MOSFET 20 including the superlattice 25 in accordance with the invention is now first described with reference to FIG. 1. One skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the materials identified herein could be used in many different types of semiconductor devices, such as discrete devices and/or integrated circuits.

The illustrated MOSFET 20 includes a substrate 21, lightly doped source/drain extension regions 22, 23, more heavily doped source/drain regions 26, 27, and a channel region therebetween provided by the superlattice 25. Source/drain silicide layers 30, 31 and source/drain contacts 32, 33 overlie the source/drain regions, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. A gate 35 illustratively includes a gate insulating layer 37 adjacent the channel provided by the superlattice 25, and a gate electrode layer 36 on the gate insulating layer. Sidewall spacers 40, 41 are also provided in the illustrated MOSFET 20, as well as a silicide layer 34 on the gate electrode layer 36.

In accordance with the present invention, the superlattice 25 material forming the channel has an upper surface portion vertically stepped above adjacent upper surface portions of the source/drain extension regions 22, 23 and the source/drain regions 26, 27, as shown. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiment an underlying portion 24 of the substrate is aligned with the superlattice 25. That is, the lateral boundaries of the superlattice 25 and underlying portion 24 are coterminous as shown. The superlattice 25 material is similarly aligned with the gate electrode 36.

Applicants have identified improved materials or structures for the channel region of the MOSFET 20. More specifically, the Applicants have identified materials or structures having energy band structures for which the appropriate conductivity effective masses for electrons and/or holes are substantially less than the corresponding values for silicon.

Referring now additionally to FIGS. 2 and 3, the materials or structures are in the form of a superlattice 25 whose structure is controlled at the atomic or molecular level and may be formed using known techniques of atomic or molecular layer deposition. The superlattice 25 includes a plurality of layer groups 45 a-45 n arranged in stacked relation, as perhaps best understood with specific reference to the schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 2.

Each group of layers 45 a-45 n of the superlattice 25 illustratively includes a plurality of stacked base semiconductor monolayers 46 defining a respective base semiconductor portion 46 a-46 n and an energy band-modifying layer 50 thereon. The energy band-modifying layers 50 are indicated by stippling in FIG. 2 for clarity of illustration.

The energy-band modifying layer 50 illustratively includes one non-semiconductor monolayer constrained within a crystal lattice of adjacent base semiconductor portions. In other embodiments, more than one such monolayer may be possible. It should be noted that reference herein to a non-semiconductor or semiconductor monolayer means that the material used for the monolayer would be a non-semiconductor or semiconductor if formed in bulk. That is, a single monolayer of a material, such as semiconductor, may not necessarily exhibit the same properties that it would if formed in bulk or in a relatively thick layer, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Applicants theorize without wishing to be bound thereto that energy band-modifying layers 50 and adjacent base semiconductor portions 46 a-46 n cause the superlattice 25 to have a lower appropriate conductivity effective mass for the charge carriers in the parallel layer direction than would otherwise be present. Considered another way, this parallel direction is orthogonal to the stacking direction. The band modifying layers 50 may also cause the superlattice 25 to have a common energy band structure.

It is also theorized that the semiconductor device, such as the illustrated MOSFET 20, enjoys a higher charge carrier mobility based upon the lower conductivity effective mass than would otherwise be present. In some embodiments, and as a result of the band engineering achieved by the present invention, the superlattice 25 may further have a substantially direct energy bandgap that may be particularly advantageous for opto-electronic devices, for example, as described in further detail below.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the source/drain regions 22, 23 and gate 35 of the MOSFET 20 may be considered as regions for causing the transport of charge carriers through the superlattice in a parallel direction relative to the layers of the stacked groups 45 a-45 n. Other such regions are also contemplated by the present invention.

The superlattice 25 also illustratively includes a cap layer 52 on an upper layer group 45 n. The cap layer 52 may comprise a plurality of base semiconductor monolayers 46. The cap layer 52 may have between 2 to 100 monolayers of the base semiconductor, and, more preferably between 10 to 50 monolayers.

Each base semiconductor portion 46 a-46 n may comprise a base semiconductor selected from the group consisting of Group IV semiconductors, Group III-V semiconductors, and Group II-VI semiconductors. Of course, the term Group IV semiconductors also includes Group IV-IV semiconductors, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. More particularly, the base semiconductor may comprise at least one of silicon and germanium, for example.

Each energy band-modifying layer 50 may comprise a non-semiconductor selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and carbon-oxygen, for example. The non-semiconductor is also desirably thermally stable through deposition of a next layer to thereby facilitate manufacturing. In other embodiments, the non-semiconductor may be another inorganic or organic element or compound that is compatible with the given semiconductor processing as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. More particularly, the base semiconductor may comprise at least one of silicon and germanium, for example.

It should be noted that the term monolayer is meant to include a single atomic layer and also a single molecular layer. It is also noted that the energy band-modifying layer 50 provided by a single monolayer is also meant to include a monolayer wherein not all of the possible sites are occupied. For example, with particular reference to the atomic diagram of FIG. 3, a 4/1 repeating structure is illustrated for silicon as the base semiconductor material, and oxygen as the energy band-modifying material. Only half of the possible sites for oxygen are occupied.

In other embodiments and/or with different materials this one half occupation would not necessarily be the case as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Indeed it can be seen even in this schematic diagram, that individual atoms of oxygen in a given monolayer are not precisely aligned along a flat plane as will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art of atomic deposition. By way of example, a preferred occupation range is from about one-eighth to one-half of the possible oxygen sites being full, although other numbers may be used in certain embodiments.

Silicon and oxygen are currently widely used in conventional semiconductor processing, and, hence, manufacturers will be readily able to use these materials as described herein. Atomic or monolayer deposition is also now widely used. Accordingly, semiconductor devices incorporating the superlattice 25 in accordance with the invention may be readily adopted and implemented, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

It is theorized without Applicants wishing to be bound thereto, that for a superlattice, such as the Si/O superlattice, for example, that the number of silicon monolayers should desirably be seven or less so that the energy band of the superlattice is common or relatively uniform throughout to achieve the desired advantages. The 4/1 repeating structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for Si/O has been modeled to indicate an enhanced mobility for electrons and holes in the X direction. For example, the calculated conductivity effective mass for electrons (isotropic for bulk silicon) is 0.26 and for the 4/1 SiO superlattice in the X direction it is 0.12 resulting in a ratio of 0.46. Similarly, the calculation for holes yields values of 0.36 for bulk silicon and 0.16 for the 4/1 Si/O superlattice resulting in a ratio of 0.44.

While such a directionally preferential feature may be desired in certain semiconductor devices, other devices may benefit from a more uniform increase in mobility in any direction parallel to the groups of layers. It may also be beneficial to have an increased mobility for both electrons or holes, or just one of these types of charge carriers as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The lower conductivity effective mass for the 4/1 Si/O embodiment of the superlattice 25 may be less than two-thirds the conductivity effective mass than would otherwise occur, and this applies for both electrons and holes. Of course, the superlattice 25 may further comprise at least one type of conductivity dopant therein as will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Indeed, referring now additionally to FIG. 4, another embodiment of a superlattice 25′ in accordance with the invention having different properties is now described. In this embodiment, a repeating pattern of 3/1/5/1 is illustrated. More particularly, the lowest base semiconductor portion 46 a′ has three monolayers, and the second lowest base semiconductor portion 46 b′ has five monolayers. This pattern repeats throughout the superlattice 25′ The energy band-modifying layers 50′ may each include a single monolayer. For such a superlattice 25′ including Si/O, the enhancement of charge carrier mobility is independent of orientation in the plane of the layers. Those other elements of FIG. 4 not specifically mentioned are similar to those discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 and need no further discussion herein.

In some device embodiments, all of the base semiconductor portions of a superlattice may be a same number of monolayers thick. In other embodiments, at least some of the base semiconductor portions may be a different number of monolayers thick. In still other embodiments, all of the base semiconductor portions may be a different number of monolayers thick.

In FIGS. 5A-5C band structures calculated using Density Functional Theory (DFT) are presented. It is well known in the art that DFT underestimates the absolute value of the bandgap. Hence all bands above the gap may be shifted by an appropriate “scissors correction.” However the shape of the band is known to be much more reliable. The vertical energy axes should be interpreted in this light.

FIG. 5A shows the calculated band structure from the gamma point (G) for both bulk silicon (represented by continuous lines) and for the 4/1 Si/O superlattice 25 as shown in FIGS. 1-3 (represented by dotted lines). The directions refer to the unit cell of the 4/1 Si/O structure and not to the conventional unit cell of Si, although the (001) direction in the figure does correspond to the (001) direction of the conventional unit cell of Si, and, hence, shows the expected location of the Si conduction band minimum. The (100) and (010) directions in the figure correspond to the (110) and (−110) directions of the conventional Si unit cell. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the bands of Si on the figure are folded to represent them on the appropriate reciprocal lattice directions for the 4/1 Si/O structure.

It can be seen that the conduction band minimum for the 4/1 Si/O structure is located at the gamma point in contrast to bulk silicon (Si), whereas the valence band minimum occurs at the edge of the Brillouin zone in the (001) direction which we refer to as the Z point. One may also note the greater curvature of the conduction band minimum for the 4/1 Si/O structure compared to the curvature of the conduction band minimum for Si owing to the band splitting due to the perturbation introduced by the additional oxygen layer.

FIG. 5B shows the calculated band structure from the Z point for both bulk silicon (continuous lines) and for the 4/1 Si/O superlattice 25 (dotted lines). This figure illustrates the enhanced curvature of the valence band in the (100) direction.

FIG. 5C shows the calculated band structure from the both the gamma and Z point for both bulk silicon (continuous lines) and for the 5/1/3/1 Si/O structure of the superlattice 25′ of FIG. 4 (dotted lines). Due to the symmetry of the 5/1/3/1 Si/O structure, the calculated band structures in the (100) and (010) directions are equivalent. Thus the conductivity effective mass and mobility are expected to be isotropic in the plane parallel to the layers, i.e. perpendicular to the (001) stacking direction. Note that in the 5/1/3/1 Si/O example the conduction band minimum and the valence band maximum are both at or close to the Z point.

Although increased curvature is an indication of reduced effective mass, the appropriate comparison and discrimination may be made via the conductivity reciprocal effective mass tensor calculation. This leads Applicants to further theorize that the 5/1/3/1 superlattice 25′ should be substantially direct bandgap. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the appropriate matrix element for optical transition is another indicator of the distinction between direct and indirect bandgap behavior.

Referring now additionally to FIGS. 6A-6E, a method for making the MOSFET 20 will now be described. The method begins with providing the silicon substrate 21. By way of example, the substrate may be an eight-inch wafer 21 of lightly doped P-type or N-type single crystal silicon with <100> orientation, although other suitable substrates may also be used. In accordance with the present example, a layer of the superlattice 25 material is then formed across the upper surface of the substrate 21.

More particularly, the superlattice 25 material is deposited across the surface of the substrate 21 using atomic layer deposition and the epitaxial silicon cap layer 52 is formed, as discussed previously above, and the surface is planarized to arrive at the structure of FIG. 6A. It should be noted that in some embodiments the superlattice 25 material may be selectively deposited in those regions where channels are to be formed, rather than across the entire substrate 21, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Moreover, planarization may not be required in all embodiments.

The epitaxial silicon cap layer 52 may have a preferred thickness to prevent superlattice consumption during gate oxide growth, or any other subsequent oxidations, while at the same time reducing or minimizing the thickness of the silicon cap layer to reduce any parallel path of conduction with the superlattice. According to the well known relationship of consuming approximately 45% of the underlying silicon for a given oxide grown, the silicon cap layer may be greater than 45% of the grown gate oxide thickness plus a small incremental amount to account for manufacturing tolerances known to those skilled in the art. For the present example, and assuming growth of a 25 angstrom gate, one may use approximately 13-15 angstroms of silicon cap thickness.

FIG. 6B depicts the MOSFET 20 after the gate oxide 37 and the gate electrode 36 are formed. More particularly, a thin gate oxide is deposited, and steps of poly deposition, patterning, and etching are performed. Poly deposition refers to low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) of silicon onto an oxide (hence it forms a polycrystalline material). The step includes doping with P+ or As− to make it conducting, and the layer may be around 250 nm thick, for example.

In addition, the pattern step may include performing a spinning photoresist, baking, exposure to light (i.e., a photolithography step), and developing the resist. Usually, the pattern is then transferred to another layer (oxide or nitride) which acts as an etch mask during the etch step. The etch step typically is a plasma etch (anisotropic, dry etch) that is material selective (e.g., etches silicon ten times faster than oxide) and transfers the lithography pattern into the material of interest.

Referring to FIG. 6C, once the gate 35 is formed, the gate may then be used as an etch mask to remove the superlattice 25 material and portions of the substrate 21 in the regions where the source and drain are to be formed, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. As may be seen, this step also forms the underlying portion 24 of the substrate 21. The superlattice 25 material may be etched in a similar fashion to that described above for the gate 35. However, it should be noted that with the non-semiconductor present in the superlattice 25, e.g., oxygen, the superlattice may be more easily etched using an etchant formulated for oxides rather than silicon. Of course, the appropriate etch for a given implementation will vary based upon the structure and materials used for the superlattice 25 and substrate 21, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.

In FIG. 6D, lightly doped source and drain (“LDD”) extensions 22, 23 are formed. These regions are formed using n-type or p-type LDD implantation, annealing, and cleaning. An anneal step may be used after the LDD implantation, but depending on the specific process, it may be omitted. The clean step is a chemical etch to remove metals and organics prior to depositing an oxide layer.

FIG. 6E shows the formation of the sidewall spacers 40, 41 and the source and drain 26, 27 implants. An SiO₂ mask is deposited and etched back. N-type or p-type ion implantation is used to form the source and drain regions 26, 27. The structure is then annealed and cleaned. Self-aligned silicide formation may then be performed to form the silicide layers 30, 31, and 34, and the source/drain contacts 32, 33, are formed to provide the final semiconductor device 20 illustrated in FIG. 1. The silicide formation is also known as salicidation. The salicidation process includes metal deposition (e.g. Ti), nitrogen annealing, metal etching, and a second annealing.

The foregoing is, of course, but one example of a process and device in which the present invention may be used, and those of skill in the art will understand its application and use in many other processes and devices. In other processes and devices the structures of the present invention may be formed on a portion of a wafer or across substantially all of a wafer. Additionally, the use of an atomic layer deposition tool may also not be needed for forming the superlattice 25 in some embodiments. For example, the monolayers may be formed using a CVD tool with process conditions compatible with control of monolayers, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

An alternate embodiment of the semiconductor device 20″ and method form making the same will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7A-7D and 8. The steps performed in FIGS. 7A-7B are the same as those discussed above with reference to FIGS. 6A-6B, except that the spaces 40″ are formed before patterning the superlattice 25″ and substrate 21″. They are instead patterned to extend laterally beyond the edges of the gate stack.

The lightly doped source/drain extension regions 22″, 23″ and the source/drain regions 26″, 27″ are then formed, as previously discussed above and shown in FIGS. 7C-7D. Yet, the resulting structure will differ from the semiconductor device 20 in that the superlattice 25 channel is aligned with the sidewall spacers 40″, 41″ rather than the edges of the gate 35″ stack. This embodiment may be preferred in some applications, as current flow between the lightly doped source/drain regions 22, 23 of the semiconductor device 20 will make a vertical transition that approaches ninety degrees, whereas in the present embodiment the vertical transition will occur more gradually. Thus, these two different configurations may be used to provide different device characteristics for different applications, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

A completed semiconductor device 20″ formed using the method illustrated in FIGS. 7A-7D is shown in FIG. 8. Here, multiple MOSFETS are formed in the substrate 21″, such as NMOS and PMOS transistors to provide a CMOS device. More particularly, shallow trench isolation (STI) regions 80″ may be formed between adjacent MOSFETS, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In accordance with one embodiment, the STI regions 80″ may be formed prior to depositing the superlattice 25″, so that the STI regions thus provide boundaries for selective deposition of the superlattice.

More particularly, the wafer is patterned and trenches are etched (e.g., 0.3-0.8 um) in the desired STI regions. A thin oxide is then grown, and the trenches are filled with SiO₂ to provide the STI regions 80″, and the upper surfaces thereof may be planarized, if desired. The STI regions 80″ may also be used as an etch stop in performing certain of the above-noted steps, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The superlattice 25″ structure may also be formed prior to formation of the STI regions 80″ to thereby eliminate a masking step, if desired. Further details regarding fabrication of the semiconductor devices in accordance with the present invention may be found in the above-noted U.S. application Ser. No. 10/467,069.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; and at least one metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) comprising spaced apart source and drain regions in said semiconductor substrate, a superlattice channel comprising a plurality of stacked groups of layers on said semiconductor substrate between said source and drain regions, and having upper surface portions being vertically stepped above adjacent upper surface portions of said source and drain regions, each group of layers of said superlattice channel comprising a plurality of stacked base semiconductor monolayers defining a base semiconductor portion and an energy band-modifying layer thereon, said energy-band modifying layer comprising at least one non-semiconductor monolayer constrained within a crystal lattice of adjacent base semiconductor portions, and at least some semiconductor atoms from opposing semiconductor portions being chemically bound together with the chemical bonds traversing the at least one non-semiconductor monolayer therebetween, the non-semiconductor selected from the group consisting of at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and carbon, and a gate overlying said superlattice channel.
 2. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said semiconductor substrate comprises an underlying portion aligned with said superlattice channel.
 3. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said gate comprises a gate oxide layer and a gate electrode thereover; and wherein said superlattice channel is aligned with said gate electrode.
 4. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said gate comprises a gate oxide layer, a gate electrode thereover, and sidewall spacers on opposing sides of said gate electrode; and wherein said superlattice channel is aligned with said sidewall spacers.
 5. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said at least one MOSFET comprises a plurality thereof; and further comprising an isolation region in said semiconductor substrate between adjacent MOSFETs.
 6. The semiconductor device of claim 1 further comprising a contact layer on at least one of said source and drain regions.
 7. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said superlattice channel has a common energy band structure therein.
 8. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said superlattice channel has a higher charge carrier mobility than would otherwise be present without said non-semiconductor layer.
 9. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein each base semiconductor portion comprises silicon.
 10. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein each base semiconductor portion comprises germanium.
 11. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein each energy band-modifying layer consists of oxygen.
 12. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein each energy band-modifying layer is a single monolayer thick.
 13. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein each base semiconductor portion is less than eight monolayers thick.
 14. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said superlattice further has a substantially direct energy bandgap.
 15. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein said superlattice further comprises a base semiconductor cap layer on an uppermost group of layers.
 16. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein all of said base semiconductor portions are a same number of monolayers thick.
 17. The semiconductor device of claim 1 wherein at least some of said base semiconductor portions are a different number of monolayers thick.
 18. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; and at least one metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) comprising spaced apart source and drain regions in said semiconductor substrate, a superlattice channel comprising a plurality of stacked groups of layers on said semiconductor substrate between said source and drain regions, and having upper surface portions being vertically stepped above adjacent upper surface portions of said source and drain regions, each group of layers of said superlattice channel comprising a plurality of stacked base semiconductor monolayers defining a base semiconductor portion and an energy band-modifying layer thereon, said energy-band modifying layer comprising at least one non-semiconductor monolayer constrained within a crystal lattice of adjacent base semiconductor portions, and at least some semiconductor atoms from opposing semiconductor portions being chemically bound together with the chemical bonds traversing the at least one non-semiconductor monolayer therebetween, the non-semiconductor selected from the group consisting of at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and carbon, and a gate comprising a gate oxide layer overlying said superlattice channel and a gate electrode thereover, and said gate electrode being aligned with said superlattice channel; said semiconductor substrate comprising an underlying portion aligned with said superlattice channel.
 19. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein said at least one MOSFET comprises a plurality thereof; and further comprising an isolation region in said semiconductor substrate between adjacent MOSFETs.
 20. The semiconductor device of claim 18 further comprising a contact layer on at least one of said source and drain regions.
 21. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein said superlattice channel has a common energy band structure therein.
 22. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein said superlattice channel has a higher charge carrier mobility than would otherwise be present without said non-semiconductor layer.
 23. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein each base semiconductor portion comprises silicon.
 24. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein each base semiconductor portion comprises germanium.
 25. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein each energy band-modifying layer consists of oxygen.
 26. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein each energy band-modifying layer is a single monolayer thick.
 27. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein each base semiconductor portion is less than eight monolayers thick.
 28. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein said superlattice further has a substantially direct energy bandgap.
 29. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein said superlattice further comprises a base semiconductor cap layer on an uppermost group of layers.
 30. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein all of said base semiconductor portions are a same number of monolayers thick.
 31. The semiconductor device of claim 18 wherein at least some of said base semiconductor portions are a different number of monolayers thick.
 32. A semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor substrate; and at least one metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) comprising spaced apart source and drain regions in said semiconductor substrate, a superlattice channel comprising a plurality of stacked groups of layers on said semiconductor substrate between said source and drain regions, and having upper surface portions being vertically stepped above adjacent upper surface portions of said source and drain regions, each group of layers of said superlattice channel comprising a plurality of stacked base semiconductor monolayers defining a base semiconductor portion and an energy band-modifying layer thereon, said energy-band modifying layer comprising at least one non-semiconductor monolayer constrained within a crystal lattice of adjacent base semiconductor portions, and at least some semiconductor atoms from opposing semiconductor portions being chemically bound together with the chemical bonds traversing the at least one non-semiconductor monolayer therebetween, the non-semiconductor selected from the group consisting of at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, and carbon, and a gate comprising a gate oxide layer overlying said superlattice channel, a gate electrode thereover, and sidewall spacers on opposing sides of said gate electrode, said sidewall spacers being aligned with said superlattice channel; said semiconductor substrate comprising an underlying portion aligned with said superlattice channel.
 33. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein said at least one MOSFET comprises a plurality thereof; and further comprising an isolation region in said semiconductor substrate between adjacent MOSFETs.
 34. The semiconductor device of claim 32 further comprising a contact layer on at least one of said source and drain regions.
 35. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein said superlattice channel has a common energy band structure therein.
 36. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein said superlattice channel has a higher charge carrier mobility than would otherwise be present without said non-semiconductor layer.
 37. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein each base semiconductor portion comprises silicon.
 38. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein each base semiconductor portion comprises germanium.
 39. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein each energy band-modifying layer consists of oxygen.
 40. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein each energy band-modifying layer is a single monolayer thick.
 41. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein each base semiconductor portion is less than eight monolayers thick.
 42. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein said superlattice further has a substantially direct energy bandgap.
 43. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein said superlattice further comprises a base semiconductor cap layer on an uppermost group of layers.
 44. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein all of said base semiconductor portions are a same number of monolayers thick.
 45. The semiconductor device of claim 32 wherein at least some of said base semiconductor portions are a different number of monolayers thick. 